New contract must make General Practice an attractive option

13 Nov 2017

BMA Scotland have announced that they have reached an agreement with the Scottish Government on a new contract for general practice.

It aims to address the woeful recruitment levels experienced in recent years, with thousands of doctors having left Scotland over the past three years, and a third of GP training places going unfilled.

And just last week the Scottish Conservatives’ Save Our Surgeries campaign revealed that the SNP’s GP Recruitment and Retention Programme has attracted just 18 new doctors in the two years since it was launched.

The draft agreement will now be sent to GPs and GP trainees so they have the opportunity to have their say in a poll to take place in December.

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs welcomed the proposed new contract, but said that the Scottish Government needs to do more to prioritise primary care.

Scottish Conservative shadow health secretary Miles Briggs MSP said:

“The current problems in our GP services are clear to see, and there is no doubt that the Scottish Government need to prioritise primary care.

“Making General Practice an attractive option for the next generation of medical students is vitally important in helping solve the current recruitment crisis.

“We also need to show GPs currently working in Scotland that they are valued and will be supported to provide first class health care to their local community.

“I welcome the introduction of longer consultations for patients with complex needs, an issue raised by the Scottish Conservatives previously, and the new funding formula which takes into the account the demographics and deprivation of local areas.

“This contract looks like a move in the right direction, yet it is ten years too late and the Scottish Government must now show they can turn their words into action.”